


Five Easy Steps to Becoming a Reformed Mad Scientist

by storiesfortravellers



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Iron Man - All Media Types, Marvel (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (2012)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Character Death Fix, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Extremis, F/F, F/M, Guilt, Multi, Redemption, Science, science sis
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-04
Updated: 2013-07-04
Packaged: 2017-12-17 16:17:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,012
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/869500
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/storiesfortravellers/pseuds/storiesfortravellers
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Spoilers for Iron Man 3:</p><p>How Maya Hansen finds what she needs. AU where Maya is dosed with Extremis and survives and ends up working and living with Tony and Pepper.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Five Easy Steps to Becoming a Reformed Mad Scientist

**Author's Note:**

  * For [metonymy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/metonymy/gifts).



> Tony's angry thoughts about certain countries or their furniture companies are obviously not my own.

**1\. First, don’t blow up.**

Mad scientists are equal parts creative and destructive. With the latter category involving quite a bit of self-destruction. 

It’s best not to make that self-destruction too literal. Being destroyed by your own creation is so cliché.

At least, this was how Maya reassured herself as she sat on a bed in a thin hospital gown, waiting to be taken into the operating room for the procedure. 

Just as she had predicted, Tony had figured out how to correct the design flaw in Extremis – even if she hated thinking about all the years she spent calling the obliteration of human beings a “design flaw.” 

She was only the second Extremis survivor to undergo the new procedure to prevent her from exploding. Pepper had come out of the procedure perfectly safe with only a mild reduction of her powers. Tony thought that it would be just as safe for Maya but that there was no way to predict how much her power would decline.

Personally, Maya was kind of hoping it would get rid of her powers altogether.

While she continued to think about all the things she had done to get here, Pepper popped her head in the door and said hello. She entered the room, pulled up a chair by Maya’s bed and laid a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

“Just wanted to wish you well,” Pepper said.

“That’s nice of you,” Maya said, neutrally. _Sorry for almost getting you and Tony killed_ seemed a little awkward.

“The process is fairly painless, as far as medical procedures go,” Pepper said. “The worst part was feeling so tired after, but it goes away after a couple of days.”

Maya smiled, despite herself. Pepper had a way of making her let her guard down. 

Pepper continued, “Tony will be watching from the observation room just in case he wants to offer additional advice. I personally don’t enjoy watching surgeries, so I’ll be cowering in the waiting room, but I’ll be here when you wake up.”

Maya stared for a moment, surprised at the gesture. She guessed it must have been pretty obvious that she had no one who could be there for her. But she wasn’t expecting, after everything….

She swallowed thickly and just said, “I really appreciate it, Pepper.”

Pepper nodded and smiled. “Are there any questions I can answer?”

Maya hesitated. “Weren’t you…” _Terrified to be a guinea pig?_ She tried not to think about all the people who were just as scared when she experimented on _them,_ who convinced themselves that being stronger would be worth the risk since Dr. Hansen seemed so very kind and trustworthy. Still, she wasn’t so unselfish that she wasn’t also thinking about her own chances with this very, very new procedure.

It’s not that she didn’t trust Tony. Maya knew that Tony’s science was right 99% of the time. But when it was wrong, it tended to be spectacularly wrong. Buildings imploding wrong, or city blocks cordoned off until the goo can be identified wrong. 

She tried again: “Weren’t you a little concerned about being the first human test? I mean, Tony’s record is very solid _overall_ but--”

Pepper smiled grimly. “Tony occasionally thinks it’s okay to proceed when he’s not entirely sure his ideas will work. He thinks that sometimes the information you receive from a failure is a necessary step. Even from a very, very messy failure,” Pepper said, and Maya could see Pepper’s effort to not roll her eyes. Figures – Pepper was probably the one cleaning up those messes. “But he would never, ever get the science wrong when my life is at stake.”

“Really,” Maya said. On the one hand, Pepper had unwavering faith in Tony, which didn’t speak to her objectivity well. On the other, Pepper seemed quite ready to call Tony on his shit. 

“Look at his history,” Pepper added. “He never makes mistakes when lives are on the line. Well,” she amended with a grimace, “He never makes _scientific_ mistakes when lives are on the line,” a clear reference to Tony’s years of weapon design.

“Wish I could say the same,” Maya said. 

“You’ll be a lot safer in another couple of hours, Maya. And then you’ll have a whole lifetime to figure out what you want to do differently,” Pepper said, smiling as if redemption were obviously right there, just waiting for her to choose it. 

Maya said. “I’m sorry, Pepper. For everything.”

Pepper poked her lightly in the shoulder. “Stop talking like you won’t see me later this afternoon.”

Maya let out half a laugh. “Fine. I’ll be optimistic.”

“That’s my girl,” Pepper said, twinkle in her eye, and Maya was almost positive Pepper was flirting with her.

The transport team came in then, and Pepper had to leave. Soon, Maya was counting backwards as she inhaled into a mask.

Soon after, she was in recovery, with Tony and Pepper standing over her.

“Procedure went great,” Pepper assured her and offered her some water with a straw. 

Maya didn’t really feel like it, but she took a sip.

“So,” Tony said. “Try exploding.”

“Tony,” Pepper admonished.

“What? It’s a valid test,” Tony said. “Really, Maya, glad you’re doing well. Also glad that we managed to polish up that Extremis thing you got going there. It’s really one of the most amazing inventions I’ve ever seen. I mean, besides my own.”

Pepper rolled her eyes. 

“She knows I’m kidding,” Tony said.

“I know he’s not kidding,” Maya told Pepper with some amusement. Whatever else had changed about Tony – and Maya suspected it was a lot – the ego seemed to be okay. 

“So, it’s two nights of observation and then how do you feel about coming home with us?” Tony said. “We need to keep working on Extremis, because there is like crazy potential there, and two minds are better than one, right? I’ll get a special lab ready, you can sleep in a suite right by the lab, it’ll be great. Like, we’re going down in the history books great.”

“Um, wow. That’s… very generous. But I’m sure Pepper might have a problem with that idea.” Maya knew that even generous, open-minded Pepper wouldn’t want Tony’s ex living with them, scientist or not.

“Actually, I think it’s a superb idea,” Pepper said.

“She thinks that because it was her idea,” Tony added.

Maya looked at Pepper with a raised eyebrow. She really wanted to say yes. Even if this didn’t make any sense. 

Pepper placed a gentle hand on her thigh, a comforting squeeze, almost chaste. “We want you there, Maya. We’ve been where you are.”

“I don’t need pity.”

“Pepper doesn’t do pity, believe me,” Tony answered. “And I really do think the results will come much faster if we work together.”

“I’m not even allowed to work on it any more. I was … visited by someone, Agent Hill. Very shady secret government stuff, probably.”

They didn’t look at all surprised. “I’m smoothing it over with them,” Tony said confidently.

Maya had to laugh. _Of course_ Tony and Pepper acted like super scary top secret agencies could be dealt with like an advertiser who was offended by Tony’s latest public rant.

“Really,” Pepper said. “And besides, Tony and I just think we would like having you around.” Pepper waited for her answer, subtly moving her thumb in tiny strokes on the skin of Maya’s thigh. It wasn’t sexual, exactly. But it wasn’t … not.

“Sure,” Maya said, still not sure how all of this happened.

But, seeing the smiles on Tony’s and Pepper’s faces – natural, genuine smiles, people who wanted to be around her even knowing everything she had done – she was happy to have someone to come home to. 

 

**2\. Admit mistakes.**

Getting used to living with Tony and Pepper was surprisingly easy. She had plenty of room to herself, and they were never offended if she would rather work in the lab than spend time socializing. Not that Tony was any better in that regard. But sometimes she would join them for breakfast or dinner, sometimes even for movie night. Sometimes, she would have coffee with Pepper, chatting about the news, about books and opera and shoes and economics, before Pepper had to rush off to run SI. And somehow, no authorities ever came to sweep her away for all the things she had done, though she never really stopped waiting for that to happen.

The experiments, though, were going well. At first, every result she looked at brought back memories: the first subject who died. The first time an explosion caused by Extremis killed a crowd. The sear of a bullet going through her brain. 

But Tony was so… excited. There was no other word for it. And the two of them, bouncing ideas off of each other, really did lead them to new questions. The idea of helping so many people with medical problems even reminded her of why she started, at least a little. Their work also renewed her faith that maybe you really could make big science happen without letting someone else own your work, even though her cynical side knew that this freedom to be ethical was possible only because of Stark’s money.

She still had her doubts, though, especially when a minor setback reminded her of all her more spectacular failures. Particularly her failure as a human being to stop the project before she had so much blood on her hands.

Once, after a petri dish went up in flames, she just about lost it. She sat on the stool, weak-legged, and struggled to stay put, her hands gripping the lab counter like she was hanging onto a ledge.

“What’s up?” Tony said, looking concerned, “I’ve never seen you react like this before.” 

“We shouldn’t be doing this,” she said, suddenly. She looked at him, waiting to be ignored.

But Tony looked like he was actually thinking about what she was saying.

He said, finally, “That other time you worked on this. Why do you think it turned out the way it did?” _Why did all those people die horrible deaths?_

Maya paused, then said, “I only cared about succeeding. I didn’t care about what I was succeeding at.” It was the truth. It tasted like ash to say out loud, like bitterness and smoke, but it was the truth.

“Been there,” Tony said. His voice was matter-of-fact, ruthlessly so, but his face, for a moment, looked almost broken.

“You broke the habit,” she pointed out.

“Like all Stark products, I am constantly being improved,” he said. 

She took a minute to process. “You’re still working on it. On…”

“On not being the guy I used to be. Yeah.”

“Big project.”

“Tell me about it,” Tony said, and they both laughed.

“You’re working on it too,” Tony said. 

“Doesn’t feel any different,” she confessed. She really wished she could feel like something was different.

Tony looked down, avoiding her gaze. “It doesn’t for a while. Just… keep choosing to do things differently. Be really stubborn about it, you know? Like really, really, really stubborn. And eventually… you just wake up one day, and you’re pretty sure you’re not quite the selfish prick you used to be.”

Maya laughed. “So, just dig the hole and eventually you’ll fall in?”

“Pretty much,” Tony said with a smile. 

She smiled back. 

Then she sighed and said, “Okay. Let’s get back to work.”

 

**3\. You’ll desperately want to stop taking risks. Don’t.**

There were problems, sometimes, backward steps. Both in the science and in her personal quest to keep working even though there was always the chance that the work – and her integrity – might all go terribly wrong again.

But she kept at it. She told herself that hiding from everything – from knowledge, from herself – wasn’t the answer.

She still sometimes found herself scared by little things, though.

She wanted to test her Extremis powers, for example. And she knew it would be good for her research to document the limits and capabilities of her body. But every time she lifted a lab table without effort, every time she watched a papercut heal in seconds before her eyes, she was reminded: she would never be the person she was before Extremis took over her life. Her body was a constant reminder of her sins.

Still, she knew there were answers to be found. And when they were getting so close to turning her abomination into what it was intended to be – something that could help so many people – she couldn’t bear to stop looking for answers.

She asked Pepper if there were a safe place for her to do some strength training and speed tests. 

“You know that you’re not going to explode, right?” Pepper asked.

“Yes,” Maya said. She did know it; she had by now had the chance to look over Tony’s work in detail. But she didn’t know how strenuous physical activity would affect her surroundings. Extremis folks didn’t usually have to do anything strenuous.

Pepper had a suggestion. “Could I join you? I used to work out three times a week, really cleared my head. It’s hard to get a real workout that’s a challenge these days. I can ask SHIELD to let us use a training room.”

“Is it a good idea to cozy up to SHIELD? I mean, from what I’ve heard they’re a little…”

“They are worth being cautious about, certainly. But it’s good to be at least somewhat cordial with them, especially since they’re running the Avengers.”

“Keep your frenemies closer?”

“Something like that.”

“Will they really want the person involved with the Mandarin hoax around?”

“They like to keep threats close, too. They’d rather get to know you, I’m sure.”

Maya stared at her for a moment before realizing: “You and Tony kept SHIELD from going after me. They agreed to let me go if I lived with you. So they would know where to find me. And they could keep an eye on their work.”

Pepper sighed. “Yes.” She wrapped a hand around Maya’s. “But also so we could protect you if SHIELD or anyone else got... overzealous. But that is definitely not the only reason we asked you to move in. You risked your life to try to save Tony and a lot of other people.”

“Why do I get the feeling that you’re the only reason I’m not in a tiny windowless room right now?”

“In a windowless lab more likely. They really are interested in your work.”

“I bet.”

Pepper patted her shoulder. “I’ll make the arrangements for a training room.”

~~

Pepper and Maya did work out together, all recorded in detail so Maya could analyze it later. An Agent Sitwell showed them the facilities, and occasionally an agent called Natasha would come in to train them in hand to hand. And probably to assess whether Maya’s change of heart was sincere and what kind of threat she posed, Maya presumed. 

Still, she enjoyed sparring with Pepper, who was much more inclined to winning fights with dirty tricks than one might think. Maya respected that.

She also enjoyed working with Tony, and working alone sometimes too, delving into questions she hadn’t ever noticed before, that could, once in a while, make her feel that high again of knowing that you are the only person in the world who has thought to ask this question.

She was being careful this time. She wasn’t pushing too fast and she wasn’t afraid to approach problems with the knowledge of the possibility of failure. Neither she nor Tony were interested in anyone else getting killed by Extremis. But progress was moving along swiftly enough that within a year, they would probably be far enough along to start offering Extremis-based medical treatments for the seriously ill without significant side effects. 

And that meant that other people would have access to Extremis, people whose motives might not be the same as Maya’s. Again.

Sometimes she had to remind herself, every time she looked in the mirror, not to be a coward. To be cautious, not fearful. 

She had to remind herself of the same thing when she first joined Pepper and Tony in the bedroom. The flirtatious workouts and coffees with Pepper, the near kisses with Tony after an especially exciting discovery, all the little domestic moments watching movies on the couch or eating pasta at the table together… she had sensed that it was leading up to something. But when it came time, she knew that it wasn’t a sure bet at all – getting sexually involved with people you work with is always a risk. Getting emotionally involved with a couple who have known each other for years puts you at risk of always feeling like an outsider (and Maya was pretty sure she was well on her way to involved). And complicating two friendships that she had increasingly come to depend on -- well, that was just plain unwise.

But she couldn’t say no. Her fear wanted a no. But Maya, the braver part of her, and the desire that they fueled in her, wanted a yes.

And so, with time, she became less and less afraid. And sometimes, the three of them would lie in bed after, tired and sated and blissful, their limbs entangled. Pepper on one side of her and Tony on the other, all of them bundled closely. And at those times, she would listen to their breaths and whispers, feel their warmth surround her, and she would know: there is nothing she wouldn’t risk for this.

 

**4\. Accept the support of others.**

Being with Tony and Pepper was better than she expected. They were creative in bed, and generous too, and they never made her feel like she was just the one on the side. 

Maya was surprised, though, at how much the little things mattered to her as well. The little kisses before Pepper left for work, the bizarrely amusing notes that Tony left her when he had to step out. Croissants and tea in the morning, watching late night shows while cuddling on the couch under one blanket. Maya never took herself for the sentimental sort, but it looked like she might be wrong. 

And, although she hated to admit it, there were some nights when she was just grateful not to be alone.

Especially on nights when she dreamed of everyone who died because of Extremis. She dreamed of their faces, crumbling, scaling away from the heat of a body that couldn’t hold its own energy. She dreamed of fire searing through them, through her. She dreamed of hell, sometimes, which apparently her subconscious still believed in. Sometimes, her dreams just forced her to relive reality; she dreamed of her test subjects, eagerly signing on despite the risks, and every time she tried to tell them to run, her mouth went dry, her silence a cruelty they couldn’t detect as they smiled at her, full of trust. 

Often, she woke up screaming. 

Of course, sometimes Tony was the one who woke up screaming in the middle of the night. Except when he did it, it took him ten minutes to be able to breathe properly.

Maya wondered sometimes why Pepper put up with either of them. 

Once, on a really bad night for Maya, she rested her head in Pepper’s lap and sobbed while Tony rubbed her back. It felt like she was doing this for a long time, and she thought that they must have found it tedious. 

They had put a ban on apologizing for waking up with nightmares, so when she was calm enough, all she said was “I’m fine.”

Pepper and Tony glanced at each other. “You can tell us anything, Maya,” Pepper said, her voice raspy, almost broken. It wasn’t like Pepper to sound that way. 

Maya was silent.

Tony leaned back onto his pillow then and looked at the ceiling. He paused, then said, “When I dream about New York… sometimes I dream that I invented the nuclear bomb. Sometimes I dream that I invented the alien weapons too. And then I fail to stop them, and the whole world is destroyed because of what I made.”

Maya saw Pepper’s lips tighten. Clearly, it hurt her to hear. Tony had never even told Pepper this, Maya realized. It must have been excruciating for Tony to say it out loud.

Maya reached her hand out to clasp Tony’s. “Sometimes, I dream that I haven’t changed at all. I’m stuck in time, living the same moment again and again, right before it all goes wrong.”

They were silent for a moment.

Then Pepper said, “Sometimes I dream that the people I love are in terrible pain and I can’t do anything to save them.” They looked at her. “My subconscious is a very literal thinker,” Pepper added.

Maya smiled. And after a little more talk, they were all able to sleep, clinging to one another like they were holding tight to more than just flesh and bone.

~~

Maya's nightmares didn't go away, but they eventually became less frequent. But during the day, she was thinking about them more and more. And she was pretty sure she knew why. 

They were going to start human trials soon.

Being a tinkerer in a lab was easy. Being a scientist who explained to the world how to do things differently – that was another thing altogether. That meant trusting that you could stop your creations from becoming something you never wanted them to be. That meant believing that you could live through it even if your creations turned out to be disastrous yet again.

Maya was trying hard to keep moving forward. But she felt she should proceed with an abundance of caution. 

_Cautious, not fearful,_ she reminded herself. 

And though she struggled with the question of how, finally she decided to just ask someone with more experience.

“How do you make sure Stark Industries tech isn’t used in unintended ways?” she asked Pepper.

“You mean pirating?”

“No. I mean….”

“Oh,” said Pepper, “How do we make sure the tech isn’t used to build better bombs and missile launchers?”

“Yeah.”

“You’re worried about putting Extremis out there?” 

“I know it sounds completely paranoid,” Maya said.

“Paranoia is exactly how we keep SI tech from being appropriated. Everything we release, we go through and imagine all the ways the tech could be weaponized. Then we build in as many technical safeguards as we can. For anyone who wants to find proprietary code, Tony has some special hackproof way of keeping it hidden, but he only uses it for potentially dangerous information. He makes most of his code easily accessible since he thinks that the next great StarkPhone will actually be created by someone who makes unauthorized alterations to their phone for personal use. I have mixed feelings about that opinion, but I’m willing to give it a chance.”

Maya smiled. It almost felt like a stereotype. Science wants open information, corporate is willing to tolerate open information if it’s a good business model. Not that Maya wanted 100% open information exchange, at least not with Extremis.

Pepper continued, “SI lawyers do a lot of work monitoring and stopping people who adapt SI tech without license, but the black market is trickier. Purely hypothetically, Tony may have sent out some computer viruses that are completely harmless and undetectable but that alert SI techs when someone’s doing something on their computer that looks like it relates to knocking off his tech.” 

“Purely hypothetically,” Maya confirmed with a smile.

“Tony’s ethics are … a work in progress. But it is effective. Usually we wait until it's close to official rollout before getting all these ducks in order, but you’re right, for this one, we should work on it early. The DNA coding will require much more efficient data filtering. Tony’s the one to talk to about that. Let’s schedule three meetings a week with all three of us until we get it sorted out.”

Maya shook her head. She was hoping for a little reassurance, maybe some vague advice. She was rather relieved that there was now a plan of action. 

“Sounds great,” she said. “Thank you, Pepper.” 

Pepper smiled back. “Don’t thank me yet. You’re the one in the lab all day with Tony. It’s on you to get him to the meetings on time.”

~~

A few months later, after very successful trials, broader medical use in otherwise hopeless situations was given emergency provisional approval by the FDA.

The news kept talking about a new age for human quality of life and longevity. They also kept talking about how Tony Stark and Dr. Maya Hansen had made history and could shortly expect Nobels. 

Maya mostly kept waiting for the other shoe to drop.

It didn’t. But Maya still kept researching the risks to make it safer and easier to apply to a wider variety of patients, and along the way found a number of important discoveries besides. 

Tony publicly bragged about his and Maya’s genius. Privately, he was just as diligent as Maya about continuing research into other possible risks. And all three of them were constantly working to nip it in the bud whenever some startup tried to make some unstable ripoff of Extremis. So far, they had prevented anyone from getting even remotely close.

Pepper took to putting pictures of people saved by Extremis on the refrigerator. When told that this was not nearly subtle enough, she took down the pictures, leaving only a child’s drawing, a family leaving the hospital, everyone wearing wide pink crayon smiles. 

“Still not subtle,” Tony said.

“Deal with it,” Pepper replied.

They both looked at Maya, waiting for her to settle the argument. 

“Forget it,” Maya said. “On this one, you two are on your own.”

 

**5\. Stay out of the fray when Tony Stark gets into a twitter war with the Nobel Committee.**  
 _  
Reuters dispatch. Stockholm, Sweden._

_In a surprising turn of events, this year’s Nobel controversy wasn’t the usual debate about whether too many Europeans win or if politics should be a factor in the literature award. Unknown hackers have obtained and released the confidential email exchanges the committee used to discuss the award. While traditionally, most discussion was done in person, the recent shift toward using communications technology has made these deliberations significantly less private than the Swedish Academy would prefer.  
_

 _The most controversial element of the released emails is a series of comments about Drs. Tony Stark and Maya Hansen, the American scientists previously thought to be a shoo-in for the Prize in Medicine, with a longshot chance of obtaining the Prize in Chemistry as well, which would be a first in Nobel history. Comments from Academy members, however, indicate that they feel it would be unwise to bestow such a prestigious award on these particular scientists. Among the comments from various members were these statements:_

_“Tony Stark is a celebrity, not a scientist. The last thing the world should give him is a bigger ego. His history of atrocious behavior harms the reputation of the entire scientific community.”_

_“Although much has been swept under the rug, those of us in her field know that Maya Hansen worked on Extremis for years. Since American authorities have apparently erased all records of her early research, we have no proof that informed consent was obtained from all subjects. And besides, does any of us actually want to give Tony Stark an award?”_

_“Maya Hansen was not considered an important figure in the field until this year. Protestations that her earlier work was kept under wraps by her former think tank does not change her lack of reputation.”_

_“Tony Stark is a well-known lout and drunkard.”_

_“Drs. Stark and Hansen should feel free to pose on the cover of a swimsuit magazine together, but that’s about all they should be given.”_

_“Inviting Tony Stark to give a Nobel address would make a mockery of a solemn and venerable tradition. If we want lewd jokes and delusions of grandeur, then he is the man for the job. Otherwise, no.”_

_“Many of us have met Tony, and so we know he is a huge pain in the ass. But he and Dr. Hansen have changed medicine and healing, and our very understanding of organic life, forever. Perhaps we can announce the award and decline to have a ceremony this year. That way, none of us will have to deal with the jackass in person.”_

_“The Nobel Prize is the highest honor a scientist will ever receive. It should not go to a buffoon who happens to be a good tinkerer.”_

_“Tony Stark made weapons for years. Maya Hansen’s role in rumored early Extremis failures is still unknown. Nothing changes that.”_

_“Ten years ago, Tony Stark visited Stockholm for a month to consult on a project. At his good bye party, he vomited on a minister and propositioned several guests with bits of vomit still stuck to his face.”_

_“Tony Stark is an asshole.”_

_At our inquiry, Pepper Potts, CEO of Stark Industries, responded to these revelations with “No comment.”_

__

**@YesThatTonyStark:** Swedish academy get your head out of your ass

 **@YesThatTonyStark:** You’re welcome for revolutionizing medicine but hey go ahead give the award to some hack who made a slight advancement in well worn areas

 **@YesThatTonyStark:** In response to accusations no I was not the hacker who released the emails

 **@YesThatTonyStark:** You should have communicated by StarkPhone, StarkPhones don’t get hacked, oh that’s right you prefer MEDIOCRE to great

 **@YesThatTonyStark:** you are sniveling cowards afraid to admit you are jealous of my and dr hansens genius

 **@YesThatTonyStark:** and yeah we look fucking awesome in swimsuits

 **@YesThatTonyStark:** not that that’s important that dr Hansen looks awesome in a swimsuit I have actually never seen her in a swimsuit #YoureRightPepper

 **@YesThatTonyStark:** you suck and so does IKEA #FuckYouSwedishAcademy

 **@YesThatTonyStark:** your meatballs taste like ass and not in the good way #FuckYouSwedishAcademy

 **@YesThatTonyStark:** it’s not delusions of grandeur if you are actually the smartest people in the room #FuckYouSwedishAcademy

 **@YesThatTonyStark:** nobody actually finishes those long Swedish mysteries they just skip right to the sex scenes

 **@YesThatTonyStark:** I’m not bitter, I just think it’s a disgrace to award the nobel prize on petty personal reasons.

 **@YesThatTonyStark:** also you are depriving dr hansen of the prize just because I got drunk once, that is bullshit too

 **@YesThatTonyStark:** your award is pathetic anyway look at its history of terrible judgment #IstheNobelIrrelevant

 **@YesThatTonyStark:** Ibsen sucks #FuckYouSwedishAcademy

“That’s Norway,” Maya pointed out.

“Is there a difference?” Tony said.

Pepper sighed. “I guess we’re adding _two_ more countries to the list of places you can’t visit.”

Tony grinned at Maya, bragging, “It’s a long list.”

“They’re right about one thing,” Maya said. “If they knew the role I played with the Mandarin, they definitely wouldn’t consider me.”

“What we did could help billions of people,” Tony said.

“ _If_ Stark Industries manages to get the process cheap and transportable enough _and_ popular opinion demands the institutional change to make it widely accessible,” Pepper reminded him, probably trying to get Tony to focus on anything other than insulting the wrong Scandinavian country.

Tony, though, was looking at Maya, trying to discern something. “Do you really think that past mistakes totally negate the good you do?” he asked her.

She sighed. “I didn’t mean for you.”

Tony answered, tense, “No. I mean, they said I made weapons for so long, I can’t be rewarded with a Nobel. I bet a lot of people would say that.”

Pepper interjected, “Alfred Nobel invented dynamite. He felt responsible for the deaths it caused so he used all that dynamite money to fund the Prizes.”

“That’s an excellent comment, Pepper, let me tweet that,” Tony said and got back on his phone. “Swedish academy are all hypocrites hashtag nobel invented dynamite,” he read aloud.

“Tony,” Pepper sighed.

Maya looked at her with something else on her mind, though. “Do you think that Nobel made up for what he did?”

Pepper looked thoughtful. “I don’t know. But I know that some of the greatest inventors and scientists in history have lived with regrets. Only the strongest let those regrets change who they are.”

Maya smiled at her. Leave it to Pepper to make her feel like her life was some moral triumph over her past wrongs. And to say it in a way that even a cynic like Maya could maybe, just a little, believe.

“We have to respond to this,” Tony said. 

“I believe you’ve responded plenty,” Pepper pointed out.

“No,” Tony said, “We need something showy. Like Iron Man flying over the awards ceremony with a banner that says--”

“No,” Pepper said firmly.

“How about--”

“No.”

“But--”

“No.”

“How about you start your own awards?” Maya said. 

“That’s a great idea,” said Pepper, sounding very surprised that this conversation might be going somewhere productive.

“I love it. The Stark Foundation for Science gives grants all the time, we can make the biggest grants an annual award with a big ceremony,” Tony said. “Eligible to anyone in the world who’s not in the Swedish Academy.”

“Or, to be given out fairly and thoughtfully as an example of what awards should be,” Pepper said.

Tony shrugged. Then he jumped up and said, “So Maya, probably we won’t be eligible for awards that we give out.” 

“Probably you’re right.”

“So let’s think of categories we’ll give awards in,” Tony said.

She noticed the ‘we.’ As if she were giving out the awards too.

Pepper seemed to read her thoughts. “This was your idea, Maya. You can at least make sure the awards aren’t all for categories that just happen to be likely to improve the Iron Man suit.”

“You’re no fun,” Tony said, “But yeah, obviously we’re in this together, right Maya? My fellow snubbee?”

Maya shrugged. “I guess I might as well.”

“I’ve got to run,” Pepper said, “But I plan to be home for dinner tonight. I look forward to hearing what you two come up with.” She got up and kissed Tony, then Maya, on the cheek before leaving.

Tony grinned at Maya. “I already have some awesome ideas.”

~~

Later that night, they had the list they could agree on:

-Best Invention that Was Clearly Inspired by Years and Years of Reading Obscure Science Fiction Books  
-Best Invention or Discovery Involving Communicating with, Befriending, or Travelling to Alien Realms that Does NOT Almost Destroy Earth  
-Best Invention for Taking Human Beings to the “Next Level” that Does Not Involve Gross Ethical Violations  
-Best Change of Heart for an Established Scientist  
-Best “Told You So”: Best Scientific Work on a Topic that Everyone Previously Thought Was Worthless Until You Proved Them Wrong  
-Best Fanwork based on Star Trek: The Next Generation  
-Sexiest New Equation  
-Most Badass New Molecule

“I can tell already which ones Tony thought of,” Pepper said, with that amused but slightly pinched tone she sometimes got. 

“Hey, I think Banner probably qualifies for about half of these,” Tony realized as he looked at the list.

“I don’t think Bruce would like that. _At all._ Besides,” Pepper said, “You said you would leave the selection up to neutral committees.” 

Tony nodded and rather poorly tried to emanate innocence. Maya rolled her eyes; she was absolutely sure that Pepper had already figured out that Tony was planning to let JARVIS decide on the award nominees.

“How about a toast? To celebrate the newest major science award?” Maya said, mostly to change the subject. Tony jumped up to get a bottle of champagne and some glasses.

They poured and held their glasses up. 

“Pepper, do the honors?” Maya said.

Pepper smiled. “To everyone who has learned from the past, and everyone who makes the future a more rewarding place.”

They drank up and then looked at each other, the taste of sweetness effervescent on their lips. And Maya realized: it wasn’t putting on a brave face any more. Maya actually was looking forward to the future.


End file.
